Syrah or Petit Syrah.. or Shiraz ..??

..Never heard about it..?? ..Did I lost my mind..?? ..Well….. not yet 🙂

Are they the same grape..?? ..Are they are not related at all..?? ..Is Petit Syrah the real name of Shiraz..??

Shiraz and Syrah are both names for the same blue grape..

(..Yes, blue grapes gives out red wines..)

..And is most definitely not the same as Petit Sirah, a different wine grape grown mostly in California. It is related to Syrah by parentage: it is the offspring of Syrah and the obscure French grape Peloursin (Uni. CA Davis USA, 1966)

The Syrah/Shiraz grape is called Syrah mostly in France as in many countries as well. In Australia they named it as Shiraz, which give us a wild range of red wines. Historically, was thought Shiraz had originated in Persia, now some research indicates the grape is a native of the Rhone Valley, in France. Although Shiraz was always known for wines from Hermitage (famous traditional French Appellation), this grape has taken off as a variety in its own right, bottled as a straight Shiraz wine.

Traditional Shiraz are dry and shows spicy blackberry, plum, and peppery flavors and quite often some notes of licorice, bitter chocolate and mocha. Modern Shiraz can be quite popular in a easy fruity style.

Petite Sirah grape is descended from the Duriff Rhone grape of France and is wild planted in California, gives out moderns wines more fruity to drink fresh. Sometimes, it can worth long aging (so.. they say..) for more mellow flavors, as it has high tannins.

By the way.. Petit Sirah is not a small blue grape, in fact is quite big with strong and muscular character… deep purple!